Serving Bread

I don’t doubt that we need to increase (and perhaps make more efficient) public funding of criminal justice programs. But Proposition 6 is not the way to fund law enforcement programs in our state. This initiative “requires minimum of $965,000,000 each year to be allocated from state General Fund for police, sheriffs, district attorneys, adult probation, jails and juvenile probation facilities. Some of this funding will increase in following years according to California Consumer Price Index.”

About half of the money requested will go to local law enforcement (which can mean a number of things) while the other half goes to programs such as “new offender rehabilitation.”

In some respects, I think this proposition is a smarter response to overcrowding prison system than Proposition 5, partly because it will tap into our state budget to construct more jails (in addition to rehab programs. But the positive aspects of Proposition 6 do not warrant a YES vote.

I’m voting no because:

1. It’s not fiscally wise to have voters mandate automatic spending in our state budget. While it may seem fair to increase law enforcement funding by as much as $1 Billion, mandating minimum funding is irresponsible. The state legislature should have some freedom on how to allocate spending. Forcing our politicians to put money in programs that eventually may be deemed unnecessary (or ineffective) is a waste of our money.
2. There is no mention in this initiative of how we will be paying for this increased spending. It concerns me that we will allocate money from our general fund that could be used for other priorities. And if this measure is passed, we are then putting the pressure (and trust) in our ineffective legislature to make cuts in other areas because the state has to abide by this law. If we (California residents / voters) believe that law enforcement needs more money, then we should make the sacrifices not just in cutting spending but taking on a tax increase.
3. I feel uncomfortable putting crime definitions and sentencing guidelines in the hands of the voters. The justice system is complicated and we need the wisdom of judges, law enforcement personnel, and rehabilitation specialists to develop and monitor these guidelines. For the majority of criminal offenses, I am not able to make an informed decision nor have the qualification to do so.

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